Category: Fiction Page 284 of 346

by S. J. Rozan
Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #8

Hardcover, 338 pg.
Minotaur Books, 2002
Read: December 11 – 14, 2015

On the whole, I enjoy the Lydia Chin novels in this series more than the Bill Smith ones, while I’d say the Bill Smith novels are better novels. Winter and Night was the best of both worlds — it was probably the best written in the series, and I really enjoyed it.

Bill gets a call in the middle of the night to come help a teen that the NYPD has taken into custody. He does brings the kid, Gary, home with him and hears a vague sob story about how Gary’s just trying to help, trying to do the right thing. And then he runs away. Bill gets Lydia to start looking for Gary in NYC while he goes to check out the kid’s hometown.

There’s more wrong in the small town Gary ran from than just a missing kid. This little town is football-crazy, I’m talking Texas football crazy, the kind of thing you think King of the Hill and Friday Night Lights is making too much of, but start to wonder if they’re not. Then there’s a dead high schooler. And seemingly every person in the town is telling Bill not to think that this had anything to do with a rape and murder over 20 years ago. Which, just gets him wondering, naturally.

This case gets under Bill’s skin, hitting close to home, and worse. Lydia compares him to a patched-up furnace that’s about to explode. He gets pretty close a couple of times, actually. Making this a rougher, more raw, more violent story (not that Bill’s books are absent violence). Because this is so close to him, he makes some really dumb mistakes — Bill, Lydia and the police spend a few chapters trying to prevent a crime that’s just not going to happen, and I spent far too much time annoyed with them from not seeing things are clearly as I could.

How does Rozan do it? Seriously, you get the same two characters in two different novels or four different always know each taking the lead and is like it’s two different series. You know, there’s a certain feel when you read a Robert Crais book — Elvis Cole book or a Joe Pike book, the books are different, and the two protagonists/narrative voiced are different. But you can tell they’re by the same writer. Not the case here — at all — it’s not even close. If you told me the two different people writing the series I’d absolutely believe you.

For my money, this is the best in the series (so far). Thoughtful, suspenseful, moody . . . everything you want in a P. I. novel.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Stepdog by Nicole Galland

By HCNewton

On December 11, 2015

In Dogs, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Stepdog

by Nicole Galland
Trade Paperback, 386 pg.

William Morrow Paperbacks, 2015

Read: December 9 – 10, 2015

I’m going to cut to the chase, if you want to read a blurb for the book, click on the cover or title above and it’ll take you to the proper website.

Let’s start with the positives, shall we? Galland can really put together a sentence. I found much of this charming and entertaining. And I’ll never not appreciate a Roddy Doyle reference (or two).

I wanted to like Cody. She’s a dog, I always want to love the dog. But she wasn’t so much a character as she was a furry obstacle to Rory’s desired lifestyle. I kept thinking about her like Skyler White or Carmela Soprano. But Skyler and Carmela were unjustly disliked by significant portions of the audience because they served as an obstacle to their criminal husbands (which was actually commendable) while being actual characters with their own interests and points of view. Cody actually did nothing but serve as an obstacle to Rory’s selfish interest.

I wanted to like Sarah, too. But see above (except for the canine part).

Maybe it’s too much of a stretch to paint them as the anti-Skyler/Carmela, but that’s where my mind went.

Jay goes from this guy to a supervillain in a novel that didn’t seem to be about that kind of thing at all in a heartbeat. Changing this from a slightly overwritten love story to an underwhelming crime story. The climactic action was way too overblown, the denouement was too quick and tidy.

Stepdog was close to being a perfectly charming read, and settled for being a minor disappointment.

—–

2 Stars

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

By HCNewton

On December 9, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

The Naturals

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Series: The Naturals, #1

Hardcover, 308 pg.

Disney-Hyperion, 2013
Read: December 8, 2015

We’ve all heard of Quantico, VA, the small town that is home to the FBI Academy, Laboratory, NCIS, and so on. What most of us don’t know is that it’s also home to a secret training ground for teenagers who are so intuitively good at profiling and other forensically-inclined psychological skills that they’re described as “Natural.” Two FBI agents and one retired Marine run this program and house, using the teens to crack cold cases. Sharpening their skills in a safe environment, so that when the time is ripe, they’ll be Super Agents.

The Naturals opens with Cassie — being raised by her grandmother while her father’s off somewhere with the Armed Services. She’s seventeen and can read people like a Richard Scarry book, which makes her a great small diner waitress. Until she’s given the chance to join program and she jumps at it, becoming the fifth member of the team.

Cassie jumps into the training, and picks things up quickly. I really enjoyed reading those scenes — she and Dean, the other profiler, sound so much like Will Graham from NBC’s Hannibal that I really got into it. Outside Quantico, things are afoot that will keep this from being all training and cold cases — and I bet, for those who survive, the next books will also pretty fresh cases, too.

Walking into a two-guy, two-gal house — and, apparently, being more attractive than she’s aware — Cassie complicates things. Soon she’s part of at least one Romantic Polygon. It’s not too painful at the moment, but I could see it overtaking things in a book or two. It’s marketed as YA, so it was likely anyway — still, you should know it’s out there.

None of the characters — including Cassie — are much more than groupings of characteristics and tics at this point, but I’d be willing to guess that they could be within another book or two. For now, they’re good enough for what the book is. It really is a fun read

A fast, fun read with just enough suspense to keep you moving, but not as much as you’d get in a Thomas Harris or Val McDermid psychological thriller — a great way to cut your teeth on the subgenre. I’ll come back for more — and I’ll pass it off to my daughter, who will likely eat it up.
—
Thanks to DanySpike for the blogpost that convinced me to give this one a try. I owe ya one.

—–

3 Stars

The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

By HCNewton

On December 8, 2015

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

by Tarquin Hall
Series: Vish Puri, #1
Trade Paperback, 295 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2010
Read: December 2, 2015

Vish Puri is 50ish, pudgy (if not worse), culturally conservative, and easily impressed with himself. And, seemingly, a pretty decent Private Investigator. Unlike most P.I.’s in fiction, he’s not a lone wolf — and he doesn’t have one hyperviolent friend to back him up. He has a team — working for him, doing footwork, the tech stuff — that sort of thing. I wish we saw more of this in these kind of novels.

Anyway, Puri (known to his friends and family as “Chubby,” his employees as “Boss”) has two clients in this particular book — neither of which seems to appreciate the fact that he’s not the agency’s sole focus. One client — a retired army general of some prominence, wants a background check on his granddaughter’s fiancé — the wedding is weeks away and the general is sure something’s wrong with him.

The second client has a trickier case — he’s a lawyer with a track record of helping the lower classes and exploited, with an eye to environmental issues. A servant girl who had been working a few months for his family took off unexpectedly (with money owed her), but they didn’t really give it any thought. Months later, he’s being investigated (and, minor spoiler, but fairly obvious), and eventually charged with, her murder.

I know next to nothing about the Indian legal system, police workings, but a little more about the culture (let me stress the “little” there) — so this was all interesting and foreign to me. The widespread expectation — and acceptance — of corruption, bribery, and so on was pretty surprising. I realize that’s par for the course in some parts of the world, but for some reason, I didn’t think India would be one of those parts. The food, the economics, the convictions and conventions related to marriage, that sort of thing — yeah, I was prepared for that, just not the widespread bribery. Makes the Favor Bank in The Bonfire of the Vanities look like daycare.

There’s nothing for the reader to do with the background check case other than watch the way that the agency works — and the allies they utilize. There’s nothing really for the reader to pick up on to “solve” with the detective. But we do get to see the stealthy, quiet, un-hurried approach they take — despite the client’s expectations. Thankfully (for the way my brain works, anyway), there was plenty to chew on with the missing servant — and it was a pretty easy solution. But the way that Puri went about solving it, and the red herrings that were thrown in the way were well done and unique to this series and setting. I really appreciated the way this was constructed.

The narration has some fun at Puri’s expense — both directly, and though the thoughts of his employees and mother. He needs to diet, he’s prone to self-aggrandizement — but he’s good at his job, and that’s allowed to show forth, too. Beyond Puri, we don’t get to know anyone as a character really — little flashes of personality and backstory here and there, but nothing like a fully fleshed out character. But I don’t think that’s the kind of story that Hall is looking to tell here.

Amusing, clever, moved along nicely and was an interesting take on a culture I know nowhere near enough about — I’ll be back for another.

—–

3 Stars

Dry Bones by Craig Johnson

By HCNewton

On December 7, 2015

In Authors, Craig Johnson, F-J, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Walt Longmire

Dry Bones

by Craig Johnson
Series: Walt Longmire, #11
Hardcover, 306 pg.
Viking, 2015

Read: December 5, 2015
So, possibly the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered is found in Wyoming (which is apparently a pretty good place to find them, who knew?), and there’s a battle brewing over who it (and the very large price tag that’ll surely be attached to it) belongs to. There’s enough drama there, but you don’t pick up a Walt Longmire novel for paleontological wrangling, you need a dead body or two. Thankfully, one shows up not too far away, and Walt’s old friend, Omar finds it.

Johnson’s pretty good at keeping several plates spinning, but this time he seems to have outdone himself — we’ve got a controversy over who gets custody over the T. Rex, with three different parties; a runaway; dealing with FBI and a Deputy U. S. Attorney looking to make a name for himself; Double Tough’s recovery from A Serpent’s Tooth; Vic’s continuing recovery from the same book; a visit from Cady and her daughter; oh, yeah, and the murder. About halfway through I actually stopped and wrote them all down, and asked myself “how’s he pulling this off?” I’m honestly not sure, but he did.

Which does mean he pulled it off flawlessly. It didn’t take too long to figure out where the Deputy Attorney story was going — aside from the running source of comedy. But honestly, I think we needed a couple more scenes to make it worthwhile. We got to see Lolo again — which was nice, but she didn’t get enough to do. Still, just glad to see she’s still in this world. I do think the skeleton controversy vanished a bit (understandably) in the middle, when I think it could’ve kept going.

But overall, this was a fun, quick ride, with Johnson (and Longmire) firing on all cylinders, and I can’t wait for the next one to see how the events of this book impact our friends going forward.

Oh no! I’m all caught up (other than the short story collection) with the Longmire books — whatever shall I do? Actually that’s a really good question, I’m going to miss my monthly visits to Absaroka County.

—–

4 Stars

Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan

By HCNewton

On December 4, 2015

In Fiction, Steampunk

Unseemly Science

by Rod Duncan
Series: Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #2

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pg.
Angry Robot Books, 2015
Read: November 28 – 30, 2015

So in The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, Duncan created this nice little world and set up what could’ve been a pretty long running series of adventures for Elizabeth Barnabus and her alter-ego/brother Edwin. Naturally, in the sequel, he pretty much destroys all of that. Sure, it would be possible to get back to something akin to the status quo, but it’d be tricky, and he’s clearly not going for that.

As clever and skillful as Elizabeth demonstrated herself to be, there’s always someone better. And when a few of those people are working together? It’s not going to go easy for you. She’s got quite the powers arrayed against her — she’s about to be deported back to the Kingdom, along with dozens of other refugees. When she’s safely back on the other side of the border, there are sure to be representatives of the Duke that’s been hunting for her waiting.

Elizabeth’s mentee, Julia, continues her education — emboldened and possibly more headstrong thanks to her recent adventures, yet still naive and idealistic. it’s her support for a charity that drives Elizabeth in this novel (well, other than the above). John Tinker, naturally, shows up and is just as simultaneously inconvenient and perfectly helpful as he was before. I’d like to learn a little more about the America he comes from.

On the run for her life, chased by the government, bounty hunters, and investigating an odd crime (ice shortages — no, really) — things start to get strange. Strange followed by disturbing. This culminated in an action sequence I (literally) could not turn pages fast enough through. Which was followed by a denouement that in retrospect I think I should’ve expected, but took me by surprise.

I’m not ready to leave this world, and am so glad to see that The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire duology has been upgraded to a trilogy, although I haven’t the foggiest idea how Duncan is going to achieve any kind of closure in one more book. But I’m looking forward to finding out how he pulls it off.

—–

3.5 Stars

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

By HCNewton

On December 3, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Girl Waits with Gun

by Amy Stewart
Series: The Kopp Sisters, #1

Hardcover, 404 pg.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015
Read: November 27 – 28, 2015

He looked up and said, in a loud, plain voice, “She’s not a regular lady.”

That line is uttered in the final few pages of this novel, but it does a pretty good job of summing up Constance Kopp (and her two sisters, too). Fitting, really, for “of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.”

It’s 1914. Constance, her older sister Norma, and much younger sister, Fleurette, live on a farm in Northern New Jersey. They’re out for a drive into town in a carriage when an automobile slams into the side. Everyone escapes fairly unscathed, but rattled. Well, the ladies are rattled, the driver of the car, Henry Kaufman, and his companions are annoyed that the Kopps had the temerity to be on the road, much less be struck by a car. Constance demands payment for repairs, but Kaufman brushes her off.

But Constance is persistent and begins to annoy Kaufman, who’s notorious for busting a strike the year before (and should be notorious for worse). And when Kaufman gets annoyed bad things happen — a campaign for intimidation begins against the sisters. Soon it becomes a battle of wills — Kaufman’s arrogance and pride vs. Constance’s gumption, stubbornness, and sense of right.

Constance soon learns of more of Kaufman’s crimes and abuses, meeting other victims — who warn her just how bad things can be. While she tries to withstand Kaufman’s assaults, she begins to try to help other victims. At the same time, she befriends the local sheriff, one of the rare lawmen in the area who aren’t beholden to Kaufman and his peers.

There’s a lightness to the writing, but the subject matter is grim — and frequently uncomfortable. Whether it’s the persecution of the sisters, Constance’s investigation into Kaufman’s misdeeds, or Stewart exploring the events that brought the Kopps to their present circumstances, this is a hard world and it takes a certain kind of person to make it. But you wouldn’t know that from the narration, really — just as Constance maintains a proper disposition (or tries to) and manners, so does Stewart.

It would’ve been very easy to turn this into something it’s not. Probably very tempting, too. It could’ve been all about the gender disparity of the time, and a feminist crusade. Or about the economics and labor conditions of the area and time — the strikes and the way they were dealt with by the owners and police. Or any number of other things, really. And it was about those things, but primarily it was a story. A decently told story with well-constructed characters. You give me one of those, and you can throw whatever politics, economic theory, etc. you want into the mix and I’ll read it. I may not buy everything you’re selling, but I’ll listen, and if your story and characters are good enough, I’ll come back. Too many people — particularly with historical fiction, it seems — will do okay with the story, mess up the characters, but nail the agenda. Stewart avoided those pitfalls, and thereby served her audience and any possible point she wanted to better.

Now, while this is a novel, it appears that Stewart has done as much research as she could to make this as non-fiction as possible. I’ve wondered a bit about that approach, does that limit what parts of the story she tells? Which would account for some odd gaps. And if it does limit it — is that a good or a bad thing? Or does that depend on the writer? That’s probably it, for some writers, such a limit would be freeing, while others would find the restriction too much. Stewart, it seems, turns this into a strength — matching with her previous non-fiction publications.

A fun little ride, full of historical nuggets, and a family you’d like to spend some time with. A little action, a little danger, but not a lot of violence. A pleasant mix of historical fiction and mystery. It’ll work for the cozy reader, the historical fiction reader, and people who just like good stories.

—–

3 Stars

Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke

By HCNewton

On December 2, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

Rules for a Knight

by Ethan Hawke

Hardcover, 169 pg.
Knopf, 2015

Read: November 30, 2015

So the story goes, Ethan Hawke is a descendant of a knight who died at the Battle of Slaughter Bridge in 1483. The night before the battle, this knight, Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke penned a lengthy letter to his young children so that they’d have something to remember him by, and hopefully learn something from him. Ethan Hawke came into possession of this letter, and after a scholar translated it for him, modernized the language so that he could pass these lessons on to his kids. Given the fact that the “Hawke” surname was once “Hawker”, there’s an ornithological flavor to all of this.

The letter, or manifesto, consists of short lessons on a variety of virtues or characteristics that Sir Thomas wanted to pass along to his son and daughters (which are awfully feminist for the 15^th Century): justice, solitude, generosity, discipline, love, humility, and so on. Virtues and ideals that are shared by many Western and Eastern cultures — something akin to what C. S. Lewis would call the Tao. The lessons combine personal vignettes from Sir Thomas’ life and training with fable-like stories (many of which are old and common — like the two dogs/wolves inside each of us fighting for control, you ought to feed the one you want to win).

Hawke’s wife, Ryan, provided the illustrations for this book. I wouldn’t say they’re dazzling, but they’re nice — and fit the material well.

This is a nice book, one that serves its purposes well. Short chapters, well (if somewhat heavy-handed) written. It’s not a must-read, but it’d be a good use of anyone’s time — particularly something for dads to read to young children.

—–

3 Stars

Indexing: Reflections, Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On December 2, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Indexing, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Indexing: Reflections, Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #2.9

Kindle
47North, 2015
Read: December 2, 2015

Just what I needed after “Holly Tree,” Sloane puts the pieces together, and the bad guys show their hand. But wait, there’s more — a fascinating narrative incursion, and some real tension — both physical danger and a heart and soul in jeopardy.

The incursion was a “Puss in Boots,” which just gets our characters out of the office and into a situation where things can happen. Which isn’t that uncommon this second series, but is frustrating. I’d have loved to see more with this Marquis of Carabas tussling with the Sloane and the team. Still, what McGuire did instead? So much better.

I really can’t say more about this one (like the last couple) without ruining the whole thing, so I’ll just leave it as: exciting, intriguing, and what we learn about what Birdie and Elise makes this series all the more interesting. As for what Sloane learns about herself? Fuhgeddaboudit.

I expect that Episode Ten will be all about Henry and that we’ll have to wait until Eleven to see what happens as the result of this one, and that’s going to drive me crazy. Even if I like Episode Ten a whole lot more than I have the last couple of Henry-centric episodes. And maybe people who aren’t Henry or Sloane will have something to do.

—–

4 Stars

Review Catch Up: The Rosie Project; Where’d You Go, Bernadette; The Rosie Effect; Funny Girl

By HCNewton

On November 27, 2015

In Authors, F-J, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Nick Hornby

I’m hitting another block when trying to talk about the last few books I’ve read, because here’s another batch of very overdue takes on some good books (and one not).
—

The Rosie Project

by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman, #1
Hardcover, 304 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2013
Read: November 6, 2013

This was charming, witty, and had plenty of heart — even without the romance, which just took it all to another level. It was just plain fun to read.

Don Tillman is just a great character — he’s likely someone with Asperger’s, if not fully Autistic. Which is mentioned once or twice, and then not brought up again. He’s then treated as a stubborn, curious, character with behavior patterns no one can seem to understand, but most people in his life figure out hot to cope with. Sometimes they laugh at him, sometimes they get frustrated or angry. What he’s not treated as is someone with anything. He’s not treated by his symptoms, he’s just treated as this guy. Simsion’s treatment of Don reminds me of Abed Nadir, from Community (which is high praise from me).

The only complaint I had was that the last chapter wasn’t really needed, and maybe would’ve been best left to the imagination. But, setting that aside, it felt rushed, while the rest of the book was so well done, it just stuck out like a sore thumb.

Still, whatever — one of my favorite books of 2013, and still one of the best RomComs I can remember.
5 Stars

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Hardcover, 330 pg.
Little, Brown and Company, 2012
Read: January 01 – 02, 2014

Do you get seasick? People who don’t get seasick have no idea what it’s like. It’s not just nausea. It’s nausea plus losing the will to live.

I should get that embroidered on something.

This starts light and breezy, a little strange, a little typical “these crazy (white) suburbanites with too much money”; but you know it’s going to get dark eventually — probably nasty dark, but first it’s going to lull you into a false sense of fun. I don’t think it gets as dark as it felt like it could’ve, it didn’t need to, and I’m glad it didn’t — but there was a whole lot going on that the whacky beginning didn’t indicate.

You don’t have care about the story because these characters are strength enough to carry your attention for quite awhile with nothing happening — and Semple’s style is just as strong. But there is a story here, a story of a daughter discovering just who her mother was — as is — a story about a talented woman who ended up loving a life she’d never have expected or picked for herself or her family. So you do care about the story — especially the way it’s told, in bits and pieces, jumping back and forth through time, from multiple perspectives — particularly when you get two or three perspectives painting a picture of an event — as Bee digs into her investigation.

Fun story, quirky characters, well-told story, with plenty of heart — and too many quotable lines. I jotted down a few that I can’t resist sharing, even in this abbreviated post.

You probably think, U.S./Canada, they’re interchangeable because they’re both filled with English-speaking, morbidly obese white people. Well, Manjula, you couldn’t be more mistaken.

Americans are pushy obnoxious, neurotic, crass — anything and everything — the full catastrophe as our friend Zorba might say. Canadians are one of that. . . To Canadians, everyone is equal. Joni Mitchell is interchangeable with a secretary at open-mic night. Frank Gehry is no greater than a hack pumping out McMansions on AutoCAD, John Candy is no funnier than Uncle Lou when he gets a couple of beers in him. No wonder the only Canadians anyone’s ever heard of are the ones who have gotten the hell out. Anyone with talent who stayed would be flattened under an avalanche of equality.

Really, who wants to admit to her daughter that she was once considered the most promising architect in the country, but now devotes her celebrated genius to maligning the driver in front of her for having Idaho plates?”

4 Stars

The Rosie Effect

by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman, #2

Hardcover, 352 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2014
Read: January 12 – 13, 2015

“To the world’s most perfect woman.” It was lucky my father was not present. Perfect is an absolute that cannot be modified, like unique or pregnant. My love for Rosie was so powerful that it had caused my brain to make a grammatical error.

Don and Rosie are living in New York, getting used to married life, and expecting a kid. None of which goes well — so, of course, Don tries to tackle things the same way he did in the last book. Instant sequel, just add water.

This sequel was written with the same wit and skill as The Rosie Project, but the story wasn’t there — and more importantly, neither was the heart.

Mostly, I think, because Rosie wasn’t around for a lot — and when she was there, she wasn’t a character, she was an obstacle.

Other than really liking the occasional line (maybe more than occasional), I just didn’t like how Rosie or Don were written, the plot was shoddy and contrived, and I was just glad to be done with it so I could move on.
2 Stars

Funny Girl

by Nick Hornby

Hardcover, 452 pg.
Riverhead Books, 2015
Read: February 7, 2015

How on earth could he love her? But he did, Or, at least, she made him feel sick, sad, and distracted. Perhaps there was another way of describing that unique and useless combination of feelings, but “love” would have to do for now.

Everything I know about this era of British culture and TV comes from The Hour and An Adventure in Space and Time, so I just have to trust that Hornby did his homework on this. I thought the behind-the-scenes stuff was great, it felt real — it felt like the kinds of conversations that writers and actors should be having anyway.

The love story turned out a lot different than I was sure it would – thankfully. Actually, most of the book did. This wasn’t the rags-to-riches-to-wreck story that it seemed like it was going to be, but a story of some people with dreams and talent doing what they could to get going in a cutthroat business. Dreams were chased, many were caught, others changed/grew — as did the dreamers.

In the midst of the discussions about the nature of their show and the stories they told — both during the making of the show Barbara (and Jim) and in later chapters where it was being looked back at, I kept wondering if tucked away in all that was an apologia for light fiction like Hornby writes? If so, I appreciated it. (it also reminded me of some similar comments John Cleese has made lately, after coming to terms with being someone who makes people laugh, and not saving the world or something grander)

Thoughtful, heartfelt, charming — this is Hornby at his most confident and mature. I can see why some aren’t liking it, but it really clicked for me.

4 1/2 Stars